If you’re in the market for wild valleys bruised with heather,
then tap “North York Moors” into Google Maps – three quarters of
the world’s heather moorland is found in Britain, and most of it is
concentrated here. No territory is more suited to romantic walks
than the area around
Sutton Bank – and we’re not talking the lovey-dovey kind.
Embark on trails that criss-cross ridge tops and brooding pastoral
fields via the Moors’ archaeological sites and historic landmarks –
our favourite being the Rievaulx Abbey. Stick around until evening;
low light pollution makes for fantastic stargazing (there’s a
Dark Skies Festival held every spring), or
venture beyond the park proper to shoreside Whitby and Robin Hood’s
Bay.

Stay: The Talbot

For us, Shaftesbury’s winsome Gold Hill gets more than its fair
share of screen time, whether that’s on Hovis ads or travel
bloggers’ feeds. Rye’s Mermaid Street is a brilliant dupe; it’s
twice as charming and there’s ten times more stuff going on
besides. In recent decades the cobbled lanes, half-timbered houses
and storied inns of this darling East Sussex town have become the
stomping ground of creative city types gone rogue. Along twisting
streets, dip in and out of small shops peddling craft-brew coffee,
second-hand books and natty interiors paraphernalia. Lamb House, the former home of author Henry
James, is a pilgrimage site for lit-lovers while St Mary’s church is best for vistas across red-tiled
roofs to rolling fields. Camber Sands and Winchelsea Beach are
within an hour’s walk.

Stay: Ammonite

A 90-minute train ride from Waterloo Station, this nature-rich
stretch between Southampton and Bournemouth draws city-weary
Londoners in search of woodland walks and thatched-roof pubs. The
charming market towns of Brockenhurst and Lyndhurst are top of our
itinerary thanks to their scattering of wisteria-clad homes,
wild-swimming spots, boutique hotels and farm-to-table restaurants.
From your base, days are best spent getting lost in the New Forest
National Park – Ivy Wood is especially dapper during bluebell
season – and picnicking between tufted sand dunes along the coastal
Solent Way. Worked up an appetite? Get your fill of Hampshire fare
in the Huntsman or The Terrace at The Montagu Arms.

Stay: Lime Wood

Some of the best discoveries are those made on your doorstep.
Deer-studded Richmond Park and bougie Notting Hill are obvious
go-tos for fanciful Londoners, but we recommend heading just north
of Paddington to Little Venice instead. At the confluence of the
Grand Canal and Regent’s Canal, this sun-dappled waterway fringed
by colourful narrowboats, dancing trees and Regency townhouses is a
magnet for offbeat entertainment and eateries – snaffle salty-fresh
seafood at The Summerhouse or Pearl Liang’s Cantonese offerings.
Hang around until evening to catch comedy performances from
candlelit tables at the Canal Café Theatre, or grab a coffee-to-go from
Beany Green and follow Regent’s Canal east, through Camden Lock to
Limehouse. Boat
hire is available.

Stay: The Laslett

A jigsaw of 40,000 interlocking basalt columns lashed by the
North Atlantic, this Unesco World Heritage Site – ranked the UK’s
fourth-greatest natural wonder – will stir even the most sober
imagination. Geologists say that it was formed by a volcanic
eruption around 60 million years ago, though we’re pretty taken
with the legend of Finn McCool, a giant who built a bridge across
the North Channel to fight his Scottish rival Benandonner. Indeed,
across the sea on Scotland’s Isle of Staffa, identical basalt
columns populate Fingal’s Cave. When you’ve done trekking about the
Giant’s Causeway and spotting its many native seabirds, drive 20
minutes inland to the Dark Hedges on Bregagh Road – this tunnel of
beech trees doubled up as Kings Road in
Game of Thrones.

Stay:
Aurora Log Cabin

Writer Wynford Vaughan called the Gower Peninsula “a secret that
people hug to themselves” and on arriving at this quaint stretch of
coast town you’ll soon see why. The UK’s first Area of Outstanding
Natural Beauty, Gower’s landscape is magical; limestone cliffs,
wild moors and sprite-laden oak woodlands. Signs of civilisation
are minimal, manifesting as country
pubs, cosy B&Bs and sandy towels crumpled on the beach.
Medieval ruins and tawny shores are the main attraction, with
everyone offering a different opinion on the best of both. Our
favourite beach is Rhossili. Sitting inconspicuously at the end of
a cliff path means fewer people make the journey out to these three
miles of coast. Daredevils can try their hand at coasteering, a
sure-fire way to get the blood pumping in this otherwise languid
town.

Stay: The Langland Loft

Out of the way and seemingly out of time, Portmeirion is an
intriguing spot in north Wales. Designed and built by Sir Clough
Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975, the fanciful product is a
purpose-built tourist village that is both kitsch and enchanting.
From above, the colourful cliffside buildings almost appear like a
speck of
Amalfi Coast in the UK, and Portmeirion that has captured
hearts across the country. With only two hotels, a cluster of
historic cottages, a handful of boutique shops, one spa, a resident
artists gallery and a sole Italian ice-cream parlour, you’ll easily
cover it all in one day. Don’t miss the Portmeirion Gardens,
bursting with vibrant colourful blooms that put the finishing touch
on this quirky spot.

Stay: This Grade-II listed cottage

Small, mighty and hailed as the country’s sunniest spot (no mean
feat in Scotland) Fife is a wee haven of warmth which, although
just north of Edinburgh,
feels worlds away. Fishermen set out to sea in the mornings,
cobblestone streets lead the way to World War II bunkers and
hole-in-the-wall ice-cream shops selling 99s. It’s a time-warped
scene completed by a backdrop of rocky shores and the ruins of
formidable castles perching on the edge of sandstone cliffs. For
landscapes less menacing, you’ll find Fife is also home to soft
shores perfect for a fish and chips picnic before a dip in calm
waters. St Andrews’ West Sands beach should be your go-to, or head
offshore to the Isle of May, a nature reserve where puffins and
guillemots thrive. Visit Scotland’s iconic Secret Bunker that
resides beneath a fake farmhouse and be sure to eat at the Lobster
Hut, a longtime Fife establishment serving fresher-than-fresh
catch.

Stay: Weaver’s Cottage

St Ives is heaving on a summer’s day but
Cornwall has plenty of lesser-known treasures, including the
tiny town of Mousehole. With a name pronounced “mau-zul”, this
postcard place is well deserving of writer Dylan Thomas’s acclaim
as “the loveliest village in England”. The majority of your days
will consist of coastal rambles, reading books beneath parasols,
and cream teas at Rock Pool Café. Aside from the obvious seaside
allures, Mousehole also offers contemporary art at The Tyler
Gallery and first-class theatre at the Minack, an open-air stage
carved into the granite cliffs of Porthcurno. This is old-fashioned
Cornwall at its most idyllic – get there before the masses
descend.

Stay:
Genevieve Cottage

When the sun is shining in Bristol,
it’s hard to beat a stroll among the Georgian townhouses of Clifton
before heading to the (remarkably student-free) rooftop terrace at
Primrose Café for some pan catalan. From there, its onwards to
Clifton Suspension Bridge before another stop – this time local
cider at The Coronation Tap. If a little relaxation is required,
there’s nowhere better than The Lido, a boutique spa sitting smack
bang in the middle of town, detectable thanks to a small sign
overhead and the enticing scent of spa products wafting out. Come
night-time, Bristol adopts an altogether different scene and when
Clifton goes to bed, Stokes Croft really comes into its own. The
famously edgy part of Bristol, the area showcases the city’s
independent spirit (and thumping drum ‘n’ bass scene). For a bit of
both head to Lakota, while the The Canteen offers live music, cheap
beers and a local crowd.

Stay:
Number 38 Clifton

There are few places that exude as much quintessential
English countryside charm as
the Cotswolds, an area synonymous with chocolate-box houses,
winding streets and fields of heather dancing in the breeze.
Sitting at the base of Worcestershire hills is Broadway, a
particularly pretty village in an area of particularly pretty
villages. Start your day with an invigorating walk to Broadway
Tower, dramatically standing alone at 20m you’ll find yourself
overlooking 16 counties from the second-highest viewpoint in all
the Cotswolds. Although slightly further away, the walk between
Upper and Lower Slaughter along the River Eye is always a pleasant
one. Once you’ve worked up an appetite, circle back to Broadway
High Street where honey-stoned houses crawl with vines and flowers
spill out of baskets perched on window sills. Stop for lunch at
Broadway Deli, a neighbourhood favourite beloved for its locally
sourced ingredients and fresh pastries. Head to Buckland Manor for
supper, where your evening meal begins with fizz and canapés in
front of a log fire.

Stay: Dormy
House

Far from just a pretty face, Frome has held on tight to its
history of nonconformism,
strong community and grassroots politics, today manifesting in
things like a communal fridge where you can donate leftovers, a
suspended coffee scheme where patrons can pay ahead for those in
need and a share shop where goods can be rented for a pound or so.
It’s the kind of place that welcomes everyone with open arms and a
cup of tea; when Brexit was announced the locals threw a party for
the town’s immigrant population to ensure they felt welcome. For a
hip vibe head to Catherine Hill, the town’s artisan quarter. Here,
you’ll find independent shops lining labyrinthine streets which
eventually lead the way to Valentine’s Lamp, a gaudily painted gas
light. Kiss it for good luck or send a letter to your beloved in
the attached post box titled “Love from Frome…”. If you’re into
markets, The Frome Independent is held on the first Sunday of every
month between March and December, there are general markets every
Wednesday and Saturday and the country market is on Thursday.

Stay: Babington House

Across the 150km sprawling from East Devon to Dorset,
The Jurassic Coast spans 185 million years of history and
boasts a plethora of natural gems (and fossils) ready to be
discovered. A hotel as picturesque as its painterly setting,
the Pig on the Beach is the perfect base for
exploring the rippling green fields, craggy limestone cliffs and
flaxen sand which sweeps across Studland Bay in a golden brush
stroke. After check-in, don your hiking boots and head for
Kimmeridge Bay, a site of historical significance and literary
inspirations. The first thing you’ll spot is Clavell Tower. Utterly
romantic, the dusty pink, Grade-II-listed
Tuscan-style tower stands proudly against an equally majestic
setting of hills and heather fields. Since being built in 1830, the
tower has captivated the hearts and minds of writers like Thomas
Hardy and P. D. James. From there, it’s a short stroll along the
coast to the bay, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty where
dramatic cliffs form a crescent across the jagged coastline. During
the summer take a dip in the rock pools at high tide. In winter,
spend time hunting for fossils in the Kimmeridge clay beds or
reading a book by the fire back at the hotel.

Stay: The Pig on the Beach

While Margate
has been hailed the new hub of east
Kent coast culture and reinvention, Deal has undergone a
similar transformation that an in-the-know crowd are slowly getting
wind of. The boisterous seaside town boasts an intriguing history
as a smuggler’s haven in the 17th century. Today, Dent’s
lawlessness and mischief translates to an individualistic spirit
and amalgamation of independent cafés, boutique shops and galleries
lining the jumble of Georgian streets backing the seafront. Expect
all the typical seaside
comforts: fish and chips on the beach, gaudy amusement arcades
and stalls selling whelks. The Saturday market is also a must – go
with an empty picnic basket to peruse the epicurean offerings. Once
your arms can’t bear any more load, head to the pebble beach to
devour your findings and nurse your food baby. Deal is also the
unlikely home to a vibrant music scene best observed at Smuggler’s
Records, a vinyl shop that puts on an annual music festival in the
forest. The opening of the town’s first boutique
hotel,
The Rose, has firmly put Deal on the map.

Stay:
The Rose

In its majestic vastness, the Scottish Highlands encompass a
myriad of adjectives at once; romantic, rugged, daunting,
bewitching, dramatic, beautiful. Sparsely populated, chances are
you’ll see more animals than people here but if you want some human
companionship, you can’t go wrong in the small village of Uig.
Roads that snake past rural houses, rustic barns and undulating
hills lead the way to this sheltered inlet town. Uig is a charming
port sitting at the edge of a harbour surrounded by sheer slopes,
woodlands and waterfalls – a sublime scene typical of the
Highlands. Like something lifted from Tolkien’s imagination
with a pinch of luxury thrown in,
The Cowshed is a boutique bunkhouse complete with underfloor
heating and a deck perfect for evenings spent gazing out into the
abyss as salty breeze wafts across the water. Head to Ella’s Café
for a hearty breakfast before picking up some picnic fodder at
Rankins Supermarket and donning your walking boots to explore some
of
the 56 walking trails. Be sure to include a trek to The Fairy
Glen on your itinerary – a delightfully strange landscape of small,
grassy knolls protruding from the earth as if by magic. The walk
itself is beautiful, taking you through hillocks, small pools,
running streams and, of course, herds of sheep.

Stay:
The Cowshed